Hon Hai expects 60% revenue growth

Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團), which assembles iPhones and iPad for Apple Inc, is likely to see revenue grow nearly 60 percent this year to top NT$3 trillion (US$102 billion), chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) told reporters yesterday.

A 60 percent increase would exceed the annual growth of 15 percent Gou set in September as the company’s long-term target.

“It is difficult to grow as fast [as before],” after the company has grown on such a large scale, the Central News Agency reported yesterday, citing Gou’s remarks during a speech by him arranged by GRETAI Securities Market.

Next year, Hon Hai Group, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) in China, will see its revenues grow more than 15 percent, Gou said.

Gou said he was “optimistic [about the group’s outlook], but has to talk conservatively,” according to the report.

He did not give details about what would be the engines for the company’s growth.

“We believe notebook ODM, LCD TV outsourcing and new product drivers from Apple, such as the iPad and iPhone, will remain long-term growth drivers over the next two years to three,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Kengean Tan said in a report released early this month.

Tan gave a “buy” rating on Hon Hai Precision Industries Inc (鴻海精密), the flagship company of the group, with a target price at NT$130, according to its report released early this month.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecast that Hon Hai Precision would make NT$2.85 trillion in consolidated revenues this year, up more than 45 percent from last year’s NT$1.96 trillion and that next year’s revenues may expand more than 18 percent to NT$3.38 billion.